UC-NRLF 


B   H   blM   735 


P   S 

1122 

B35 

055 

1893 

MAIN 


IRST 


FOUR 
HUNDRED 
YEARS 
AGO 


IBRAR 

OF  THK 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


T  I  KT  (  >  K 


Accessions  Nosfz+t,  frit-.        <"-'/,;.«  No. 

1 


^, 


^£ 


UP 


olumbian 


FOUR 
HUNDRED 
YEARS 
AGO 


R  Colilnqbiari  Poen\  for  tl^e  CJ^ildreri  ^1]0  ^ere  Unable 
:     ;     ;     to  attend  ti^e  World's   Fair.     :     :     : 


BY 

MflRY   W.  BRENDER. 

[ILLUSTRATED] 


PRICE   riPTY  CENTS, 


OTSEGO,  MICH. 

PUBLISHED  BY  THE  AUTHOR: 

1893 


COPYRIGHTED,   1893 
BY 

MARY  W.  BRENDER 

ALL  KIOHTS  KESEKVE1) 


?<  n 


PREFACE. 

THE  OBJECT  of  the  writer  in  preparing  the  contents  of 
this  booklet,  was  a  sketch  of  the  most  interesting  incidents 
of  the  discovery  of  America,  both  Columbian  and  Ante- 
Col^mbian,  convenient  for  the  childish  mind  to  retain. 
The  writer  does  not  claim  for  this  work  even  ordinary 
literary  perfection,  but  an  easy  mental  preparation  for  the 
increasing  archeolical  interest  in  our  country.  It  was 
intended  to  be  ready  for  sale  at  the  Columbian  Exposi 
tion,  but  was  unavoidably  delayed.  Its  late  appearance 
is  owing  to  the  influence  of  certain  friends  of  the  writer 
who  insist  that  it  is  sufficiently  instructive  to  guarantee  a 
reasonable  intirest  from  friends  of  children  in  search  of 
useful  reading;  hence  it  is  submitted  for  publication. 

Very  sincerely, 

THE  AUTHORESS. 


DEDICATION : 

TO   MY    DEAR    LITTLE    NIECE   AND   NEPHEW,   THIS   LITTLE 
BOOK    I   DEDICATE,   WITH   BEST   WISHES. 

THE  AUTHOR. 


INTRODUCTORY 


MY  DEAR  YOUNG  READERS: 

I  have  a  little  niece  and  nephew  who  wished  very 
much  to  attend  the  great  World's  Fair  at  Chicago, 
but  were  told  by  their  parents  that,  although  kind 
people  had  taken  a  great  deal  of  pains  to  have  things 
nicely  arranged  for  those  children  who  should  come, 
it  would  not  be  a  wise  plan  to  take  children  where  there 
would  be  such  great  crowds  of  people;  so,  as  they 
could  not  see  the  White  City  built  for  the  World's  Colum 
bian  Exposition,  to  please  them  I  promised  to  write  a 
little  story  about  the  great  man  in  whose  honor  the  great 
Fair  was  held.  Soon  I  was  reminded  of  the  many,  many 
children  in  our  country  who  would  never  see  any  of  the 
beautiful  sights  of  the  great  Fair  at  Jackson  Park,  and 
said,  "I  will  write  my  story  for  all  of  the  little  children 
who  must  stay  at  home."  If  you  like  this  little  story, 
look  at  the  frontispiece,  and  remember  that  if  it  had  not 
been  for  these  two  little  ones,  I  would  never  have  thought 
of  writing  it.  My  object  in  writing  this  is: 

7 

' 

>>    0?   T 


First,  to  interest  you  in  the  early  history  of  our 
country,  and  other  people  who  have  been  a  blessing  to 
the  world.  Trying  to  understand  intelligent  people's 
minds  enlightens  our  own  minds,  and  leads  to  nobler  life. 
Just  now  everybody  is  more  especially  interested  in  the 
discovery  of  America. 

We  wonder  if  Christopher  Columbus  ever  had  an 
idea  that  some  day  in  a  great  country  like  ours,  children 
would  everywhere  be  talking  and  reading  and  studying  so 
much  about  him?  It  seems  he  was  very  fond  of  his  own 
little  children,  of  whom  two  only,  grew  up  to  be  men. 
We  think  too,  he  must  have  been  kind  to  his  little  sister 
and  brothers,  of  whom  he  was  the  eldest;  for  we  are  told 
by  some  that  as  soon  as  he  was  able,  he  earned  money  to 
help  his  father  educate  his  younger  brothers.  This  was 
good  of  him,  much  better  than  if  he  had  been  selfish, 
thinking  only  of  himself,  spending  his  time  idly.  His 
father  was  a  poor  man  but  he  managed  to  send  his  child 
ren  to  school.  As  there  were  no  public  schools  then,  it  was 
;i  much  harder  task  for  parents,  than  now-a-days.  We 
think  little  Christopher  must  have  improved  his  time  well 
at  school,  and  studied  and  read  a  great  deal  out  of  school 
too.  We  don't  believe  he  spent  much  time  on  silly,  use 
less  reading,  or  when  he  grew  up  he  would  never  have 
had  some  of  the  wisest  scholars  among  his  friends  and  ac 
quaintances. 

It  seems  he  felt  always  that  God  meant  for  him  to 
do  something  wise  and  useful  for  the  world.  He  lived  in 
a  time  when  people  had  not  studied  out  so  many  things 
about  science  as  they  now  know.  You  now  laugh  to  think 
people  ever  believed  the  world  flat.  But  it  was  so. 
Only  ci  very  few  of  the  wisest  people  believed  that  it  might 

8 


possibly  be  round.  Columbus  truly  believed  that  it  was 
round  and  that  he  could  prove  it  so.  He  was  not  afraid 
of  the  unknown  sea  as  most  seamen  were.  It  is  said 
some  seamen  driven  by  storms  had  accidently  drifted  on 
to  unknown  land  in  the  west.  But  it  is  not  said  that 
many  of  them  ever  ventured  back  again.  And  their 
stories  about  land  were  always  forgotten  again.  It  need 
ed  a  man  who  could  unite  the  ideas  of  learned  people  with 
courage  and  patience. 

Columbus  did  not  expect  by  sailing  west  to  find  a 
new  country,  but  an  old  one;  and  by  so  doing  prove  the 
world  was  round.  When  he  found  America  he  supposed 
he  had  found  Asia,  and  proved  the  world  a  sphere.  He 
did  not  quite  prove  the  world  was  round  but  his  courage 
inspired  other  seamen  to  keep  on  trying  and  sailing  until 
about  thirty  years  later  a  ship  of  Ferdinand  Magellan  did 
sail  around  the  world  for  the  first  time  in  a  three  years 
voyage,  1519-1522. 

Some  writers  tell  us  that  Columbus  was  not  always 
a  good  man;  but  we  cannot  believe  that  he  was  not,  for 
he  was  a  good  boy  and  we  have  always  believed  that  good 
boys  and  girls  would  become  good  men  and  women.  We 
are  told  that  he  died'like  a  Christian,  at  peace  with  God; 
andj  with]  a  bad  conscience  we  don't  think  this  could  have 
been.  If  he  did  do  wrong  it  is  very  sad  that  such  a  great 
life  should  be  blotted  by  sins  that  will  not  hide  themselves 
anymore  than  his  great  deeds.  Learn  from  this  dear 
young  friends  to  keep  your  lives  pure  and  free  from  all 
sin. 

Secondly,  I  wish  to  help  you  become,  in  time,  ac 
quainted  with  the  ideas  some  people  have  of  the  very, 
very  early  history  of  our  country.  I  do  not  expect  you  to 


understand  the  whole  of  this  little  story  at  once.  I  wish 
you  to  ask  those  who  do  understand,  a  great  many  ques 
tions  and  be  guided  into  useful  reading. 

Thirdly,  I  hope  it  will  set  you  early  to  thinking  about 
living  to  some  wise  and  useful  purpose,  as  God  may 
direct.  Whether  it  be  in  a  great  or  humble  sphere,  let  it 
be  that  which  you  feel  pleases  God,  and  by  so  doing  be 
come  a  blessing.  It  requires  a  great  deal  of  diligence 
and  patience  united  with  courage  and  pluck  just  such  as 
Columbus  had,  to  live  to  a  noble  purpose.  Columbus 
reminds  us  of  Abraham  when  the  Lord  told  him  to  go  out 
and  find  a  country,  that  he  would  show  him.  He  did  not 
know  where  he  was  going,  or  what  was  before  him  but  he 
tried  to  live  to  the  high  purpose  that  God  wished  him  to, 
when  he  said  to  him  "thou  shalt  be  a  blessing."  Jose- 
phus  tells  us  that  Abraham  was  a  man  of  enlightened 
ideas  and  taught  the  world  many  wise  and  good  things. 
Columbus  to  became  a  blessing  when  he  lived  to  prove  a 
wise  idea,  and  gave  science  and  learning  such  a  strong 
push  ahead  that  the  world  never  can  go  back  to,  at  least 
one  old  ignorant  notion,  And  too  he  found  a  new  coun 
try,  for  people  to  settle  and  build  up  with  happy  homes 
and  all  privileges  of  a  free  Christian  country.  Let  us  all 
try  to  take  good  care  of  our  country,  continually  building 
up  its  government  on  principles  of  righteousness  and  jus 
tice.  And  in  whatever  station  let  the  world  be  the  better 
for  our  lives.  That  this  little  booklet  may  inspire  you  to 
live  to  an  eternal  purpose  and  become  a  blessing  to  hu 
manity  is  the  wish  of 

Sincerely  yours, 

MARY  IV.   B RENDER. 


10 


Columbian, 


OR 


CHAPTER  I. 

How  learned  people's  minds  have  changed,  'tis  found, 

Since  Columbus  first  said  the  world  was  round. 

Now  they  jeer  a  child  who  only  doubts  that, 

Then  wise  men  jeered  him,  and  declared  it  must  be  fiat, 

Nor  yet  so  big  by  half. 
Close  quarters  we  think  it  would  have  been 

For  youngsters  of  our  day, 

If  they  had  had  their  say, 
Or  if  brave  Isabella  had  been  as  hard  to  win 

Four  hundred  years  ago. 


13 


The  Old  World  was  then  so  full  of  people 
At  every  step  they'd  almost  touch  and  jostle; 
Now  imagine  our  splendid  mountain  peaks 
And  valleys,  rushing  rivers  and  pretty  creeks, 

Sunny  plains  and  smiling  lakes. 
And  our  own  dear  shade  tree  with  shout  and  stir, 
From  stately  southern  palm  to  northern  fir, 


Hill,  orchard,  park  and  lawn 
Where  the  children  skip  like  fawn, 
All  hidden  in  the  bosom  of  the  sea  as  they  were 
Four  hundred  years  ago. 
u 


What  would  we  little  Americans  with  busy  hands 

And  roaming  feet  find  to  do  in  other  lands? 

Would  there  be  room  for  us  where  like  hay-shocks  they  pile 

The  roses  of  Asia  or  lilies  of  the  Nile; 

The  yule-logs  fetch  with  holly  and  mistletoe; 

Or  cull  dainty  for-get-me-not  to  strow 

In  the  blue  rolling  Danube? 
A  coral  island  then  was  hardly  known— 

So  like  a  fairy  land — 

Bright  shells  on  sunny  strand,— 
Built  as  'twere  on  a  solid  procious  stone, 

Four  hundred  years  ago. 

Think  how  the  mitres,  crowns  and  turbans, 
Of  mikados,  rajahs    popes  and  sultans, 

Would  tip  and  fall  about, 

And  czars,  and  shahs,  and  kings,  and  kaisers  storm, 
If  every  boy  and  girl 
Began  to  skip  and  whirl, 

For  then  they  could  not  make  them  all  conform; 
And  sometimes  they  stirred  the  world  to  such  commotion 
It  never  returned  to  its  old-fashioned  notion: 
Like  Luther's  pleaching  and  Gutenberg's  printing  press, 
Or  our  Franklin  who  dignified  labor — though  less- 
Four  hundred  years  ago. 


15 


Who  can  say  how  we  children  would  have  fared, 
If  our  First  Columbian  had  not  more  dared 

To  do  than  others  did. 
Can  we  suppose  among  the  men  across  the  sea, 

Another  could  be  found 

To  believe  the  world  was  round, 
And  been  as  brave  and  patient  as  he, 

Four  hundred  years  ago  ? 

People  talked,  of  a  round  world  and  lost  Atlantis 
In  ancient  times,  for  a  wise  old  priest  of  Sais 

Told  Solon  and  Plato 

Learned  from  him  and  taught  his  scholars  and  Jew 
And  Arab  and  oriental  astronomers  knew. 
Until  the  "Dark  Ages"  when  learning  was  forgot, 
And  men  dared  not  say  what  they  thought. 


But  when  again  learning, 

like  an  angel  of  light, 
Spread  her  radiant  wings 

over  the  world's  dark  night, 
This  was  one  of  the  truths 

that  first  began  to  dawn, 
Great  scholars  and  travelers 

with  knowledge  drawn 


16 


From  much  study  argued  so,  like  Mandeville, 
And  those  Venetians,  and  Tosconelli.      But  still, 

Though  land  far  in  the  west, 
Brave  seamen  may  have  seen  'twas  forgotten, 

and  there   was  need, 

To  prove  such  logic  true, 

One  to  reason  and  dare  too, 
And  to  purpose  unite  wisdom  with  heroic  deed,— 

Four  hnndred  years  ago. 

Well  may  doughty  youngsters  his  example  prize, 
The  first  of  Columbian  youth  to  rise 
Above  his  birth.       The  poor  wool-comber's  son 
Worked  and  studied  and  his  title  well  won, 

Grand  Admiral  of  the  Ocean. 

And  now  from  every  land  grand  men  and  women  vie, 
To  honor  him  for  deeds  that  will  not  die; 
And  with  all  that's  fine  and  rare 

Hold  in  his  name  a  great  fair, 
In  Chicago,  queen  of  the  great  lakes  close  by. 
Did  that  poor  boy  dream  of  honor  so  high, 

Four  hundred  years  ago? 

Of  his  father,  humbly  toiling  'til  his  day's  work  was  done, 
And  his  truly  Roman  mother  teaching  a  blue-eyed  son, 
As  our  own  dear  mothers  now  admonishing  : 
"Always  do  right,  then  you  need  fear  nothing," — 


!8 


We  think  with  tcnderest  love, 

And  wish  they  could  have  seen  the  fair  White  City, 
That  should  some  day  be  built  across  the  sea, 
To  honor  the  child  that  listened  at  their  knee. 


19 


Yet  grown  up  folks  forget  they  once  were  small  and  say 
"It's  not  a  place  for  children  to  be  in  the  way;" 
When  we'd  much  like  to  celebrate  in  that  great  town, 
With  all  those  fine  people  of  renown, 

October  twenty-first  ; 
And  help  to  praise  Columbus  in  our  way 

Of  Eighteen-ninety-two, 

For  being  so  grand  and  true 
And  wise  to  find  our  dear  America, 

Four  hundred  years  ago. 


But  all  the  schools  of  this  great  land 
Shall  stand  a  truly  patriotic  band, 

And  wave  their  starry  flags; 
And  in  new  rhyme  and  song  be  told: 

How  one  a  brother  kind, 

And  son  of  dutiful  mind, 
Became  the  greatest  of  sailors  bold, 
With  mind  that  did  reason  as  well  as  dare, 
And  as  a  sage  could  argue  with  men  of  learning  rare, 

Four  hundred  years  ago. 


And  that  boys  are  little  men  we  will  play, 
Who  can  build  three  ships  Columbia  Day; 

And  the  girls,  little  ladies, 
Who  in  gowns  of  white,  with  such  pretty  air 
Their  bottles  dash  on  the  bows  and  declare, 


Their  names: — Columbus'  own  flag-ship, 
The  Santa  Maria, 
Then  Pinta  and  Nina; 

Not  sailed  nor  rigged  in  best  equip, 
Four  hundred  years  ago. 


But  first  from  land  to  land  one  must  beg, 
And  by  some  trick  stand  up  an  egg 

For  wise  Salamanca  men; — 
The  states  of  Europe  try  from  great  to  least, 
Persuade  the  king,  persuade  the  priest,— 


21 


With  help  from  kind  brother  Bartholomew 
And  timely  friend  Pizon  ;— 
From  perfidous  king  John, 

Til  good  queen  Isabella  the  story  knew, 
Four  hundred  years  ago. 


Favored  by  good  Deza 
and  Medina-Celli; 
Encouraged  by  Fernan 
dez  and  Toscanelli; 
While  unmindful  of 

banditti  cohort. 
Rode  friar  Juan  by 
night,  to  plead  at 

court, 

Where  Santangel 
helped  with  Quin- 

tanilla; 

And  beautiful  Beatriz, 

fair  Beatriz  of  Moya 

Sat  near  and  begged 

the  queen. 

But  who  of  us  would 
be  seen, 


22 


As  those  naughty  children  in  the  streets  to  scoff 
And  call  an  old  man  "crazy  explorer"  and  laugh, 
Four  hundred  years  ago. 

One  must  be  a  queen  to  pawn  her  jewels  or  value  high; 
While  on  the  road  to  France  a  messenger  must  fly, 
And  overtake  Columbus  at  the  old  Pinos  bridge, 
Traveling,  discouraged,  toward  the  mountain  ridge. 


CHAPTER  II. 


And  soon  now  a  hundred  and  twenty  men, 
Ninety  sailors,  a  lad,  three  priests  and  gentlemen, 
Have  bid  a  sad  adieu, 


As  off  from  Palos,  August  morning  third, 
They  leave  dear  ''Sunny  Spain" 
With  dreadful  doubts  of  land  or  gain. 
Well  sped  those  men  who  sailed  that  day  westward 
And  won  freedom  for  science  and  God's  Word, 
Four  hundred  years  ago. 

24 


When  we  reach  the  islands  a  while  we  cruise, 
But  rough  men  our  captain  shall  not  abuse 
With  threats  of  mutiny. 


We'll  dodge  sorry  king  John's  fleet;  and  punish  worse, 
The  wicked  owners  who  broke  the  Pinta  with  purpose; 
And  the  crew  that  sulked  when  far  out  from  land;— 

And  from  the  Canaries, 

Let  us  bring  some  birdies, 

For  perhaps  Columbus  did — though  so  grand— 
For  Diego  and  baby  Ferdinand, 

Four  hundred  years  ago. 


25 


Until  the  stoutest  hearts  with  fear  shall  quail, 
Westward  we  will  sail,  and  sail,  and  sail, 

For  days,  and  days,  and  days  ;— 
And  now  to  have  some  fun  let  us  pretend 

To  see  great  meteors  fall, 

And  dancing  goblins  tall, 


And  birds  that  swooped  whole 

ships  with  every  tar, 
From  keel  to  deck  and  sail  and 
topmost  spar, 
Where  sailors  fancied  the 

world  did  end, 
Four  hundred  years  ago. 


Get  mistaken  next  in  the  Sargossa  Sea, 

When  little  Nina  fired  and  cried:  "land  for  me!" 

At  a  mirage  in  the  west. 
Then  the  sailors  with  courage  quite  aslack, 
Declared:  "we're  surely  lost  and  will  turn  back." 


27 


The  earnest  man  compelled  now  with  cowards  to  temporize 
Submits  all  the  veiled  mysteries  of  the  western  skies; 
With  his  new  great  problem  of  the  world;  for  three  days 
To  win  ; — then  prays  God  to  show  his  penetrating  gaze, 


The  first  faint  gleam  of  hope, 
And  soon  saw  a  floating  branch  and 
a  dear  little  bird; 
And  then  the  seamen  knew, 
That  land  they  soon  would  view, 
And  list  to  the  sweetest  bird-song 

ever  heard, 
Four  hundred  years  ago. 


Soon,  a  welcome  fire-light  glimmered,  to  gree 

o          o  o 

Eager  watchers  from  that  lonely  little  fleet. 
Not  one  did  sleep  that  long  glad  night. 
Now  flash!  now  bang  !  now  hark  aright  !— 

'Twas  Pinta's  gun  that  roared. 
Land  !     land  !     wildly  shout;     land  !     land 

Boom  !     bang  !      boom  !     bang  ! 

How  they  shouted,  how  they  sang, 
How  they  praised  God  at  San  Salvador  land! 

Four  hundred  years  ago. 


land  ! 
bang  ! 


28 


29 


In  the  light  of  that  bright  October  morn, 
To  them  it  seemed  a  new  world  born,— 

And  they  all  kissed  the  earth. 
First,  in  richest  robes  with  banner  unfurled, 
Straight  to  God  a  prayer  sent  like  incense  smoke  uncurled, 

Then  to  Ferdinand  and  Isabella, 

Of  Arragon  and  Castilla, 
Columbus  gave  a  gift  of  half  the  world: — 

Four  hundred  years  ago. 


The  men  who  once  with  terror  uttered  threats, 
Blushed  now  with  shame  and  sharp  regrets, 

For  doubting  a  leader  so  wise; 
And  begged  at  Columbus'  feet  forgiveness;— 
While  he  forgave  with  more  than  manly  goodness, 

As  only  noble  souls  will  do. 


We'll  think  of  his  mother's,  and  Felipa's  grave, 
And  lonely  Beatriz  at  home  so  brave, 

And  some  token  for  them  bring: 


f  i  -v 


31 


Though  our  books  only  tell,  of  land,  and  gold, 
And  the  Indian  band 
From  the  new  island-strand, 

Whom  he  brought  on  his  winged  sea-horses  bold, 
"With  eyes  of  lightning  and  voices  of  thunder," 
The  ships  that  filled  the  Indian  with  wonder,— 
Four  hundred  years  ago  ? 


CHAPTER     III 


Those  who  stood  by  might  have  seen  then  and  now, 
The  Admiral  stroke  his  hand  across  a  puzzled  brow: 

What  land  was  this  he'd  found?— 

Somewhere,  in  this  sea  seven  bishops  built  seven  cities, 
'Tis  said,  when  they  fled  from  the  dark-skinned  enimies, 

Of  Roderic  of  Spain: 

32 


And  their 

ver-blooming 
and  fruitful 
Antilles, 
Might  they 
not  be,  the 
garden  of  the 
Hesperides, 
Whose  golden 
apples,  an 
cient  Tyre 
bought  and 
sold;— 

beyond  Ophir,  whence 
was  broght  the  gold, 
Solomon's  beautiful 
temple  ? 


For 


And  where  was  it  St.  Brendan 
f°r  seven  years  regaled, 

When  westward  with  fourteen  brave  monks  he  sailed, 
From  Tralee  in  Kerry,  to  a  beautiful  land, 
And  people  wild,  who  learned  from  his  pious  band, 
The  faith  of  God,  and  called  him  "  Quetzacoatl, 
Rare  and  precious"-- with  crosses  on  his  mantle: 

And  before  now  a  thousand  years, 
Returned  to  tell  the  astonished  people  of  Erin, 
Of  his  voyage  and  the  strange  land  where  he  had  been. 

S3 


Or  as  the  scalds  have  sung  in  some  wild  saga, 
Of  Thor,  and  Odin,  and  the  Vikings  of  Norway, 

And  mixed  with  superstition,  some  truth,  perhaps, 


Of  the  Vinland  of  bold  Leif, 

son  of  Eric  the  Red. 
Where  Tyker  found  sweet  grapes; 

and  Kaslsefne,  who  wed 
The  noble  Gudrid,  may  have  built 

some  mantled  tower 
For  his  lonely  lady  and  their 

darling  baby  Snorr, 
Half  those  thousand  years  ago. 


And  the  storm-driven  mariner  hath  told  many  a  tale, 
Of  the  secrets  that  slip  Old  Chronos  in  a  gale; 

From  the  fair  Atlantis, 

Pytheas  found  and  lost  again;  to  years  less  antique, 
When  Are  Marson  and  the  Champion  of  Brodovik, 
Found  Irland-it-Mikla  and  the  White  Man's  land; 
And  the  Zeno  brothers  still  later  their  Es-to-ti-land; 
And  wild  Basques,  stockfish  on  a  bluffy  strand. 
Of  isles  good  and  bad  the  sea  had  yet  to  reveal, 
Talked  Cousin,  and  Dieppe,  and  Skolno  and  Costareal, 

And  other  seamen  as  bold. 


Like  that 
fabulous  isle 
wrapped  in 
perennial  sun 
shine, 

Where  sleep 
ing  saints 
undisturbed  in 
a  cave  recline, 

With  eyes 
ever  on    the 
sea; 


And  nothing  to  employ  but  dreams  of  immortal  youth, 
As  time  and  the  waves  roll  by, — though  in  truth, 

35 


Saints  would  better  be  doing  for  the  kingdom  they  pray, 
Than  lazily  dreaming  their  time  away, 
And  their  "  Saints'  Land  of  Promise,"  no  fable  of  old, 
Should  be  of  the  western  sea, — which  Barintus  told, 
Longer  ago  than  all. 

But  a  story  that  more  than  all  perplexes  me, 
Is  that  of  some  stray  ranger  of  the  Eastern  Sea: 

How  Huwi  Shan,  of  Cathay, 
Who  aimlessly  traveled  with  his  Budhist  band 
Till  he  reached  around  the  sea  a  goodly  land, 

Long  centuries  ago,  they  called  Fusang. 

Forty  thousand  li  east  across  that  sea— 

so  the  story  goes— 
The  great  Kahn  then  sent  his 

ships.      But  who  knows, 

|;    For  if  truth,  there  should  be  such  legend 

in  Spain, 
Or  Italy.      Or,  does  there  yet  lie 

land  in  the  main  ? 
''^    Then  it  may  not  be  a  fable,  that  beneath 

this  sea  of  darkness, 
Sank  long,  long  ago,  the  great  and 

wonderful  Atlantis, 
Like  a  drowning  world,  with  awful 

quaking  throes: 
While  the  memory  of  her  ships 

and  mighty  heroes, 


36 


Eden-like  gardens  and  splendid  cities, 
And  ladies  fair,  are  told  as  mythical  stones 
Of  the  gods  of  younger  nations. 


37 


But  fable  and  fact  alike  we  must  pass  by, 
With  hope  that  future  years,  the  truth  may  sift;    and  rely 
On  later  research,  received  as  more  authentic  fame; 
For  this  new  world,  fair  as  a  babe,  must  have  a  name. 
Since  I  find  palm,  and  spice,  and  gum  across  this  sea, 
And  other  explorers,  east  by  land,  found  the  same  to  be, 

In  India  and  Cathay,— 

Though,  I  find  not  yet,  the  splendors  of  which  I  've  read, — 
The  ancient  poets  and  philosophers  have  said, 
That  this  earth,  like  the  stars,  shall  some  day  prove  round, 
And  the  east,  and  the  west,  together  shall  be  bound: 
Linked  with  grand  thought  like  this,  Marco  Polo's  Indies 
Of  the  East,  seem  Indies  of  the  West,  and  thus  agrees, 

That  latest  name  is  best. 


38 


CHAPTER     IV 


When  again  Columbus  returned  to  Spain 

The  people  praised  and  praised  until  he  forgot  the  pain 

Of  eighteen  years  of  scorn. 
But  not  faithful  friends  nor  what  they  had  done, 

Nor  loved  ones,  nor  convent 

Where  once  he'd  begged,  sad  spent, 
Food  and  drink  for  his  fainting  son, 

Four  hundred  years  ago. 


No  care-worn  clouds  darken  his  noble  brow, 
While  every  one  calls  him  a  great  man  now- 
Greater  than  the  great  duke,  Medinacelli;— 
Greater,  some  thought,  than  scholars  like  Toscanelli, 
Or  friends  at  court,  or  Palos,  or  Rabida. 
Greater,  surely,  than  scoffers  at  Salamanca. 

39 


Into  his  eye  steals 

sadness  only, 
When  he  thinks  of 

good  Felipa,  who  died, 
And  his  two  little  child 
ren  at  her  side. 
It  may  be,  too,  he 

wished  his  parents 

could  have  known 
How  rich  the  fruit  of 
seed  their  toiling 

hands  had  sown. 


Where  cnce  at  Isabella's  feet  he  humbly  sued 
Her  royal  favor,  he  kneels  in  gratitude, 

To  kiss  her  sovereign  hand. 
Then  sails  again  with  gladder  heart, 

and  ships  of  gayer  sheen 
To  build  a  town  in  the  name  of  his  honored  queen. 


They  made  him  a  duke  and  a  viceroy,  everything 

So  great,  he  was  all  but  a  king. 

The  great  and  small  for  his  favor  plied, 

Until  good  Queen  Isabella  died. 

Then  evil  hearts  so  long 
Grown  jealous,  sought  some  stain  to  fling, 

That  should  bring  blame  and  shame, 

And  rob  his  splendid  name, 
And  poisoned  the  brain  of  the  Spanish  king, 

Four  hundred  years  ago. 

40 


And  though  the  lands  and  the 

glory  he  won  was  Spain's, 
The  king's  envoy  sent  him  to 

prison  in  chains, 
And  broke  so  great  a  heart;— 
Till  good  people  who  saw 

cried:    "  What  a  wrong!" 

And  conscience  pricked  the  ting, 

For  doing  so  mean  a  thing, 
Until  he  opened  the  doors  of  the  prison  again; 
Though  not  his  royal  heart  to  the  saddened  man, 
Whose  heart  could  never-more  grow  strong, 

Four  hundred  years  ago. 

Ah,  let  us  now  play  no  funny  antic, 

For  when  last  he  sailed  the  stormy  Atlantic, 

His  saddest  troubles  o'ertook  him. 

Traitor,  and  storm,  and  shipwreck,  and  famine's  gnaw, 
Drove  deepest  their  shafts  of  pain  when  he  saw 
Young  Ferdinand  at  Sir  Christopher's  Cove, 
So  bravely  bearing  his  trials  for  love, 

Of  his  dear,  scorned  old  father. 

Though  foes  unite  to  thwart  his  noblest  plan, 
And  sad  in  heart,  the  gray-haired  old  man 
Still  triumphs,  and  bestows  on  his  ungrateful  king, 
The  last  best  lands  he  found.     With  such  offering, 


41 


To  rewin  the  royal  favor,  and  promises  made, 
Vainly  hoped;  till  his  life-boat  anchor  weighed 
Off  coast  a  better  world. 


So  poor  now  again,  and  old, 

at  Valladolid, 

When  the  death  angel  came 
To  call  the  great  man's  name, 
And  showed  him  in  heaven  how 

great  was  his  deed. 
Ah,  should  Amerigo  have  won 

his  rightful  mead, 


So  long  ere  the  bloom  of  his  patient  seed  - 
Four  hundred  years  ago? 


A  few  true  friends  the  mighty  soul  regret, 
As  fell  the  sleep,  that  selfish  hearts  no  more  can  fret, 
On  those  keen  blue  eyes  so  often  dimmed  by  tears, 
In  the  troubled  life  of  seventy  years. 

4 'All  that  I  could  I  have  done. 

To  God,  who  hath  ever  helped  in  worst  need,  I  now  must 
Leave  all,"  he  said,  with  the  Christian's  holy  trust; 
And  on  his  failing  breath, 

Sinking  fast  into  death, 

i 

Floated,  like  a  truce  o'er  the   sea, 

these  words  of  sacred  writ: 

"  Into  thy  hands,  O  Lord,  my  spirit  I  commit." 


And  from  a  clay  of  noblest  mold  the  soul  had  flit,- 
Four  hundred  years  ago? 


And  he  who  was  Viceroy  of  the  Indies, 
And  Grand  Admiral  of  the  Ocean  Seas, 
Duke  of  Veragua,  Marquis  of  Jamaica, 
And  the  great  Discoverer  of  America; 
Yet  to  be  the  inspiration 
Of  every  Columbian  son; 
Was  laid  to  rest  in  an  unnoticed  grave, 
The  friendly  fathers  of  San  Francisco  gave, 
Neath  old  Castillian  skies. 


43 


We  hear  of  few  who  were  so  nobly  born, 
That  could  o'erlook  the  foil 
Of  years  of  patient  toil, 

And  in  distress  express  no  vengeful  scorn, 
Four  hundred  years  ago. 


CHAPTER   V. 


But  when  the  angels  bore  his  spirit  to  the  skies, 
Did  they  explain  some  vision  of  his  dying  eyes, 
Of  the  happy  millions  who  should  bless, 
His  land  redeemed  from  wilderness, 

To  be  a  home  of  the  free, 
Where  great  and  small  may  plead  the  right, 
And  work  out  their  plans  by  truth's  purer  light? 

44 


Life  lit  with  new  hopes, 

in  a  happy  dream 
To  the  New  world  flowed. 


steady  ns  the  ocean 

stream 


And  bore  on  its  tide  some  health,  some  wealth  to  find, 
And  some  who  of  bigotry  had  bitterly  pined, 

And  some  for  better  homes; 
And  some,  who  had  sinned,  by  shame  oppressed, 

Sought  their  lives  to  renew, 

With  the  sweet  breath  they  drew, 
From"  the  fresh,  untainted  land  of  the  West, 

Four  hundred  years  ago. 

Others,  with  impulse  like  his  own  earnest  heart, 
Came,  urged  by  loving  desire  to  impart 
Some  hope  of  Jesus'  love; 


HIV  B 


Or  about  the  world  some  new  grand  thought 
Like  he,  Copernicus,  and  Galileo  taught, 

And  burning  with  noble  zeal 

The  new  truth  to  reveal;— 
Yet  oft,  by  king  on  throne  and  priest  in  hood, 
Prevented  in  those  dark  days  from  doing  that  good, 

Four  hundred  years  ago. 

Unscared  by  spectral  fancies 

that  o'er  waves  play  and  leap, 

O'er  the  ocean  no  more  a  trackless  deep, 
Far  and  wide  the  freighted  vessels  sweep, 

From  continent  to  continent. 
To  West  no  more  the  mariner  casts  an  empty  look, 

For  teaming  cities  rise 

To  greet  his  anxious  eyes, 
With  way  plain  as  our  toy- boat  on  the  brook, 
Frets  not  as  he  o'er  a  perplexing  log-book, 

Four  hundred  years  ago. 


46 


CHAPTER  VI. 


King  Ferdinand,  later  repenting  neglect  so  ill, 
Sent  men  to  bring  his  ashes  to  beautiful  Seville, 

And  build  a  monument. 
And  Santa  Maria  de  la  Antigua, 
Gave  up  the  noblest  dead  that  in  her  transepts  lay. 
Were  La  Cuevas  aves  and  pater  nosters  farther  heard 
Or  could  Carthissian  friars'  lifeless  dust  safer  guard; 
Or  were  the  banks  of  Gaudalquiver, 

Fairer  than  Douro's  side, 

To  satisfy  the  noble  pride, 
Of  those  who  shed  the  affectionate  tear, 
Or  owned  with  kindred  love  the  dust  upon  that  bier, 

Four  hundred  years  ago? 

47 


But  his  ashes,  like  his  questful  spirit, 
'Neath  Andulusian  skies  albeit, 

Were  not  forever  to  rest. 

A  new  king,  with  honor  greater  than  we  can  tell, 
Sent  them  across  the  sea,  he  once  had  dared  so  well, 

To  sleep  at  San  Domingo, 

Where  the  soft  sea  winds  blow, 
And  the  waves  had  born  his  craft  on  their  restless  swell, 

Four  hundred  years  ago. 


Born  with  that  spirit  he  brought  to  the  West, 
The  people,  grateful  now,  will  not  let  him  rest, 

Till  his  guerdon,  like  his  quest,  is  won. 
When  two  centuries  and  a  half  had  rolled, 

With  the  tides  of  ebb  and  flow; 

With  greater  pomp  and  show, 
Than  would  have  pleased  his  foes  of  old, 
He  was  brought  to  proud  Havana,  to  he 
Beneath  a  new  cathedral,  quaint  and  high, 

Now  called  gray  and  old; 
Where  the  sea  moans  and  surges  below, 

Now  sweep  the  winds  wild  above  it; 

Now  sigh  like  a  sad,  gentle  spirit. 
He  saw  the  same  star-light  and  sun-glow, 

Four  hundred  years  ago. 

His  guerdon  we  children  will  some  time  win, 
Which  to  him  so  long  denied  has  been, 

And  build  our  monument 
Greater  than  built  that  fickle  king  of  the  Cid. 

We  'll  write  Columbia, 

Cross  false  America, 
And  unmake  the  mistake  St.  Die's  careless  schoolmen  did 

Four  hundred  years  ago. 

We  '11  build  our  country  up  with  honest  character, 
And  noble  minds,  nor  let  the  soulless  transactor, 
Hide  behind  some  cunning  law,  a  wily  scheme, 


49 


To  rob  and  crush  our  fellow- 
men;  and  wi  h  witty  theme 
Dazzle  men  to  see  wrong 

as  right. 
Then  grateful  hearts  as  living 

stones  on  duty  bent, 
Shall  be  the  memorial, 
And  our  signs  armorial, 
To  the  first  heroe  of 

our  continent, 
Four  hundred  years  ago. 


The  names  of  Felipa  and  Beatriz, 

Those  good  wives,  let  us  write  close  to  his, 

And  near  his  honored  queen, 
Her  maid  of  honor,  Beatriz  of  Moya; 
And  plainest,  the  sainted  mother,  Susana, 

Though  long  she'd  slept  in  death; 
And  througli  ages,  dark  or  bright,  of  our  country, 

Let  this  fair,  faithful  band 

Of  earnest  women  stand, 
Honored  on  the  pages  of  its  history, 

Four  hundred  years  ago. 

As  he  did,  we  '11  pass  his  foes  without  a  fret, 
And  not  one  friend  ungratefully  forget; 
Thank  Genoa  for  parents  who  taught  the  piety, 
And  honest  toil  that  shaped  life's  future  dignity; 

50 


And  for  her  brave  sons,  from  whom  he  learned  so  early 

To  dare  the  ocean  wave. 
For  those  true  men,  who  could 

reason  though  bigots  did  rage, 


Thank  Spain,  and  the  wise,  brave  queen, 
Who  raised  her  grandest  Palladin, 

From  his  humble  station  to  adorn  the  world's  heroic  page, 

As  the  forerunner  of  liberty's  brightest  age, 
Four  hundred  years  ago. 

Of  that  imputed  stain,  when  for  glittering  gold, 
They  say  his  fellow-men,  he  bound  and  cruelly  sold, 
We'll  rid  his  honored  name. 

51 


Gold!  delusive  gold!   men  cried 
for  gold  till  cherished  pursuit; 
He  must  yield    and  bring  on 

him  this  vile  repute. 
When  earth  refused  to  reveal 

the  idol  dust, 
They  sold  her  children  to 

satisfy  that  lust, 

What  would  Columbus  do?     There  's  none  so  great, 
That  must  not  sometimes  yield  to  unlucky  fate: 

Above  the  king  compelled; 

Below  the  underling  rebelled; 
And  hoping  to  appease  their  common  greed, 
Perchance,  united  will  forced  some  unholy  deed, 

Four  hundred  years  ago. 

If  true,  sins  he  had  that  must  be  confessed; 
We  hope  that  had  he  done  as  pleased  him  best, 
They  never  would  have  been,  so  we  let  them  rest, 

For  we  are  sorry  for  him. 
When  those  who  write  about  our  hero  brave, 
Would  make  us  think  he  sometimes  was  a  cruel  knave, 

We  wish  they  would  explain, 

How  prone  to  cause  others  pain, 
They  find  those  who,  as  nobly  bear  the  filial  part; 
And  kept  for  foes  as  patient,  forgiving  heart, 

Four  hundred  years  ago. 


And  Genoa's  humble  child  we  honor  now, 
And  love  to  trace  upon  that  patient  brow, 

The  truth  it  bore  within. 
With  sublime  patience  his  divine  call  obeying, 

Against  oppression's  laws, 

Worked  out  his  noble  cause, 

And  taught  the  world,  oft  disheartened,  little  murmuring, 
To  live  to  an  eternal  purpose  "BE  A  BLESSING." 

Four  hundred  years  ago. 


EXPLANATORY    NOTES. 


CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS — Was  born  at  27  Vicco  Ponticello 
street,  Genoa,  Italy,  1436;  died  at  Valladolid,  Spain,  May  20,  1506; 
buried  first,  in  the  Franciscan  Convent  of  Santa  Maria  de  la  Anti 
gua  at  Val.;  removed  to  La  Cuevas,  in  Seville,  1513;  to  San  Do 
mingo,  1536;  and  supposed  to  have  been  removed  to  Havana,  1795. 
On  his  first  and  second  voyages  to  America  he  discovered  the  West 
Indies;  third,  the  continent  of  South  America  at  mouth  of  Orinoco; 
fourth,  North  America  at  Honduras. 

FERDINAND  MAGELLAN — A  Portuguese  navigator,  who  set  out 
with  three  ships  and  234  men  to  circumnavigate  the  world;  he 
reached  the  Phillipine  Islands,  where  he  was  killed  by  the  natives; 
two  of  his  ships  were  wrecked,  but  one,  with  only  fifteen  men, 
finally  accomplished  the  first  voyage  around  the  world,  1519-1522. 

JOSEPHUS,  FLAVIUS — An  eminent  Jewish  historian  and  patriot, 
born  at  Jerusalem  A.  D.  37;  died,  100. 

ISABELLA — Queen  of  Castile,  Spain. 

FERDINAND — King  of  Arragon,  Spain. 

OLD  WORLD — Eastern  continent. 

ROSES  OF  ASIA — Are  grown  in  fields;  Asia  is  the  home  of  the 
rose;  perfumes  are  there  made  from  them. 

LILIES  OF  THE  NILE — Are  renowned;  perfumes  are  extracted 
from  them. 

YULE-LOG — A  large  piece  of  log  burned  in  the  fire-place  at 
Christmas-tide  in  England;  Holly  is  an  evergreen  shrub  with 
bright  red  berries;  Mistletoe,  a  parasitic  plant  growing  on  the  oak. 

DANUBE — A  river  of  Germany;  the  forget-me-not  grows  wild 
and  in  great  abundance  on  its  banks;  it  here  received  its  name. 

CORAL  ISLANDS — Were  not  much  known  until  seamen  had 
learned  to  venture  out  on  the  ocean. 

MIKADO — Sovereign  of  Japan;  Shah  of  Persia;  Sultan  of  Turkey; 
Czar  of  Russia;  Kaiser  of  Germany;  Rajah,  a  Prince  of  India. 

CONFORM — When  people  adhere  to  established  creeds  they  are 
said  to  conform;  when  they  embrace  new  ideas  they  usually  do  not 

54 


conform;    about   400    years  ago  a  great   Reformation  spread  over 
Europe. 

LUTHER,  MARTIN  —  Was  a  great  preacher  of  Germany;  born  at 
Eisleben  November  10,  1483;  died  at  Eisleben  February  18,  1546. 

GUTENBERG,  JOHANN  —  Born  at  Mainz,  Germany,  1400;  died  at 
Mainz  February  24,  1478;  invented  printing  press,  1450. 

FRANKLIN,  BENJAMIN  —  Born  January  17,  1706,  at  Boston,  Mass.; 
died  April  17,  1770;  first  discoverer  of  the  principles  utilizing  elec 
tricity;  he  was  a  very  practical  man,  of  simple  habits,  and  empha 
sized  the  dignity  of  labor. 

ATLANTIS  —  Said  by  the  ancients  to  be  a  large  island  of  the  At 
lantic  Ocean,  destroyed  by  the  earthquake. 

SAIS  —  An  ancient  city  of  Egypt  at  mouth  of  the  Nile. 

SOLON  —  B,  C.  594;  an  ancient  Greek  patriot,  philosopher  and 
law-giver. 

PLATO  —  B.  C.  420;   a  Greek  philosopher  and  patriot. 

DARK  AGES,  OR  MIDDLE  AGES—  The  period  between  the  fall  of 
the  Roman  Empire  and  the  revival  of  learning. 

VENETIAN  TRAVELERS  —  Morco  Polo  and  his  two  brothers  returned 
to  their  native  city,  Venice,  1595,  after  more  than  twenty  years  of 
travel;  Nicolo  Conti,  another  celebrated  Venetian  traveler  of  later 
date. 

TOSCANELLI,  PAULO  —  A  physician  of  Florence,  who  believed  and 
argued  the  rotundity  of  the  earth  in  Columbus'  time. 

MANDEVILLE,  SIR  JOHN—  An  English  scholar,  who  returned 
to  England  after  many  years  of  travel,  in  1322. 

WOOL-COMBER  —  Columbus'  father,  Domenico  Columbus;  his 
mother  was  Susana  Fontanarossa. 

ROMAN  MOTHER  —  Columbus'  family  were  of  old  Roman  descent; 
Columbus  had  blue  eyes  and  yellow  or  reddish  hair  when  a  boy. 

WHITE  CITY  —  The  Columbian  Exposition  buildings  of  1892. 
COLUMBIA  DAY  —  October  21;    America  was   discovered    October 
12,  O.  S.,  but  when  the  calendar  was  corrected  it  brought  the  day  21. 

THEIR  NAMES  —  The  three  ships  of  Columbus  were  named  Santa 
Maria,  Capt.  Pero  Alonso  Nino;  Pinta,  Martin  Alonso  Pinzon; 
Nina,  Vincente  Yanez  Pinzon;  they  were  not  very  good  ships, 
nor  in  best  equipment. 

SALAMANCA  —  Was  the  seat  of  a  University  of  Spain;  the  King 
and  Queen  referred  Columbus  to  the  doctors  there;  they  ridiculed 
the  idea  of  the  sphericity  of  the  earth,  and  asked  him  to  stand  up 
an  egg. 

BARTHOLOMEW  —  Columbus   had   three   brothers,    Giovanni,    Bar 
tholomew,  Giocomi  or  Diego,  and  a  sister  Bianchinetta. 

55 


PINZON  MARTIN  ALONZO — of  Palos,  helped  Columbus  in  securing 
boats  and  men  for  his  first  voyage,  and  lent  him  money  also;  he 
afterward  was  not  so  friendly. 

KING  JOHN — Of  Portugal,  sent  Columbus  to  explain  his  theory 
before  his  wise  men,  who  declared  he  must  be  crazy;  the  King  sent 
Columbus  off,  then  he  sent  ships  to  find  the  country  he  had  talked 
of;  but  the  men  were  afraid  to  go  very  far,  and  returned  to  ridicule 
Columbus. 

M  EI  NA  -CELLI — Was  a  powerful  Duke  of  Southern  Spain  and 
friend  of  Columbus. 

JUAN  PEREZ  DE  LA  MARCHEA — Prior  of  the  Monastery  of  La 
Rabida  and  friend  of  Columbus. 

DEZA,  DIEGO  DE — Friend  and  patron  of  Columbus  at  the  court; 
tutor  of  the  royal  children. 

BANDITTI — The  country  was  infested  with  robbers  through 
which  Father  Juan  rode  by  night  to  reach  the  court  and  plead  for 
Columbus. 

SANTANGEL,  Luis  DE — Treasurer  of  Arragon. 

QUINTANILLA,  ALONZO  DE — Treasurer  of  Castile. 

BEATRIZ  OF  MOYA- — Maid  of  honor  to  Isabella. 

CRAZY  EXPLORER — Columbus  was  often  ridiculed  in  the  streets, 
even  by  children. 

JEWELS — It  is  said  Isabella  offered  to  pawn  her  jewels  to  raise 
the  money  to  furnish  the  expense  of  the  voyage;  Spain  had  carried 
on  a  long  war  and  the  treasury  was  nearly  exhausted. 

ROAD  TO  FRANCE — Not  the  direct  road  from  Northern  Spain, 
but  from  Granada  to  Cordova;  he  had  received  a  last  refusal  from 
the  King  and  Queen,  and  he  was  on  his  way  to  see  his  children 
first  at  Cordova,  and  then  going  to  France. 

PINOS  BRIDGE,  OR  BRIDGE  OF  PINES — The  Queen's  messenger 
overtook  Columbus  just  across  this  bridge,  six  miles  out  of  Granada. 

PALOS — A  seaport  of  Southwestern  Spain,  where  the  fleet  set 
sail  on  the  first  voyage,  August  3,  old  style,  or  August  14,  modern 
time. 

CANARIES — Columbus  did  not  set  out  directly  west,  but  cruised 
among  the  islands;  Canaries,  or  Dog  Islands,  is  the  home  of  the 
canary  bird. 

BROKE,  PINTA — The  rudder  of  the  Pinta  was  broken,  and  it  was 
suspected  that  the  owners,  who  sailed  with  them,  did  it  with  a  pur 
pose  to  have  an  excuse  to  return. 

DIEGO  AND  FERDINAND—  Columbus'  sons. 

METEOR'S  FALL — A  meteor  fell  into  the  sea  ahead  of  the  ships 
and  it  frightened  the  sailors;  goblins  are  imaginary  beings  of  all 

56 


kinds  which  superstitious  people  believe  in;   we  hope  every  child 
knows  better  than  to  believe  such  things  now. 

WORLD  END — People  used  to  suppose  the  world  had  an  end, 
just  as  a  field  has. 

SARGOSSA  SEA — Places  in  the  sea  where  seaweed  grows;  floating 
grass  is  also  accumulated  by  the  ocean  currents;  in  the  distance  it 
appears  like  land. 

MIRAGE — An  illusion  in  the  air;  Columbus'  men  thought  they 
saw  a  large,  beautiful  city. 

THREE  DAYS — The  crew  became  at  last  so  mutinous  that  Co 
lumbus  was  obliged  to  make  a  condition  with  them  that  if  they  did 
not  find  land  in  three  days  he  would  return. 

PINTA'S  GUN — It  is  said  that  Rodrigo  de  Triana,  a  sailor  on  the 
Pinta,  first  shouted  "Land!  "  and  the  Pinta  fired  the  first  salute. 

SAN  SALVADOR  (OR  HOLY  SAVIOR) — Where  Columbus  first  landed; 
the  natives  called  it  Guanahani,  or  Cat  Island. 

FELIPA  MONIZ  DE  PALESTRELLO — First  wife  of  Columbus;  she  and 
the  two  youngest  children  died  at  Funchal;  she  was  the  mother  of 
Diego. 

BEATRIZ  ENRIQUEZ — Second  wife  of  Columbus;  was  the  mother 
of  Ferdinand. 

WINGED  SEA-HORSES — The  Indians  supposed  the  ships  to  be 
sea  monsters,  with  eyes  of  lightning  and  voices  of  thunder. 

SEVEN  BISHOPS — Are  said  to  have  fled  from  the  Moors  when 
they  overcame  King  Roderic,  in  the  seventh  century;  they  sailed 
in  a  boat  westward  until  they  reached  lovely  islands,  where  they 
built  seven  cities;  are  supposed  to  be  the  Antilles. 

HESPERIDES,  OR  DAUGHTERS  OF  THE  SEA — Are  supposed,  also, 
to  be  the  Antilles;  the  ancients  told  many  fanciful  stories  about 
them. 

GOLDEN  APPLES — Oranges  and  lemons. 

TYRE — An  old  city  of  Asia  on  the  Mediterranean  Sea;  her  men 
were  great  seamen,  and  some  suppose  they  must  have  reached 
America  in  the  long  voyages  of  three  years  with  King  Solomon's 
men,  spoken  of  in  the  Bible. 

OPHIR — Some  think  may  have  been  Mexico,  Central  America  or 
Peru. 

ST.  BRANDEN — Was  an  Irish  monk,  who  set  out  with  fourteen 
monks  to  find  a  legendary  "Isle  of  the  Blessed"  of  which  he  had 
read;  they  came  to  a  beautiful  land  answering  to  the  description  of 
the  West  Indies  or  Mexico,  where  he  lived  seven  years  and  then 
returned,  in  the  fifth  century;  the  Irish  monks  used  to  have  crosses 
worked  on  their  mantles. 

57 


QUETZACOATL — Was  a  Mexican  hero  or  divinity,  so  long  ago 
people  cannot  make  out  just  what  his  people  did  think  of  him;  some 
think  he  was  St.  Branden,  others  St.  Thomas,  of  the  Bible. 

ERIN — A  name  for  Ireland. 

SKALDS — Old  Norwegian  poets  and  minstrels. 

SAGA—  A  song  of  the  skalds. 

THOR  AND  ODIN — Were  old  Norwegian  deities. 

VIKINGS — Brave  sea  captains,  a  sort  of  noble. 

VINLAND — Supposed    to    be    New    England;     named    so    by   the 
Norsemen. 

ERIC  THE  RED — An  old  Viking;  he  named  Greenland. 

MANTLED  TOWER — There  is  an  old  tower  at  Newport,  R.  I.  sup 
posed  to  have  been  built  by  Norsemen. 

LEIF  ERICSON — Was  the  son  of  Eric  the  Red;  he  is  said  to  have 
discovered  America  in  the  year  1000. 

TYRKER — A  German  sailor  who  came  with  Leif  Ericson;  he 
found  the  grapes,  after  which  Vinland  was  named. 

KARLSEFNE,  THORWALD — A  Viking  who  came  from  Greenland  to 
Vinland,  and  did  much  for  the  new  colony. 

GUDRID — Was  the  widow  of  Thorstein  Ericson;  she  married 
Karlsefne  and  came  to  Vinland,  where  their  son  Snorr  was  born; 
she  was  a  kind,  intelligent  and  spirited  woman. 

SNORR — Was  the  son  of  Karlsefne  and  Gudrid,  and  was  the  first 
Norse  child  born  in  Vinland;  it  is  said  that  he  is  one  of  the  ances 
tors  of  the  sculptor,  Thorwaldsen. 

"OLD  CHRONOS" — A  very  old  name  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean. 

PYTHEAS — An  ancient  mariner,  who  thought  he  found  Atlantis, 
but  lost  it  again. 

ARE  MARSON— A  Norse  or  Irish  sailor. 

CHAMPION  OF  BRODOVIK — An  Irish  sailor. 

IRLAND  IT  MIKLA,  OR  GREAT  IRELAND — Supposed  to  be  the 
Carolinas. 

WHITE  MAN'S  LAND,  OR  HUITRAMANIA — Supposed  to  be  Geor 
gia  and  Florida. 

ZENO,  NICOLO — And  his  brother,  Venetian  gentlemen,  of  wealth, 
who  sailed  on  the  Atlantic  and  were  driven  in  a  storm  to  a  strange 
land  called  Es-to-ti-land. 

BASQUES — A  brave  people  of  Northern  Spain;  they  were  brave 
seamen,  and  some  of  them  claim  to  have  reached  a  bluffy  country 
where  stockfish,  or  codfish,  abound,  which  they  called  Stoxfixia; 
supposed  to  be  Newfoundland. 

Cousis,  DIEPPE,  SKOLNO  AND  COSTAREAL — Were  brave  seamen 
who  sailed  the  Atlantic,  and  are  said  to  have  been,  at  different 

58 


times,  driven  on  to  strange  land;   Skolno  was  a  Pole,  in  the  service 
of  the  Danes,  sent  out  as  an  explorer. 

BARINTUS — Was  an  old  monk;  it  is  supposed  his  story  was  only 
a  myth. 

EASTER  SEA — Pacific  Ocean,  east  of  Cathay. 

CATHAY — China. 

Hwui  SHAN — A  Buddhist  monk,  with  five  other  monks,  sup 
posed  to  have  wandered  to  America  in  the  fifth  century;  Buddhist 
monks  travel  aimlessly,  without  an  objective  point;  Hwui  Shan  is 
said  to  have  come  by  way  of  the  Aleutian  Islands. 

FUSANG — Supposed  to  be  Mexico. 

Li — A  Chinese  mile. 

SEA  OF  DARKNESS — The  Atlantic  Ocean;  it  is  said  after  Atlantis 
was  destroyed  it  became  so  turbid  and  muddy  that  it  was  impossi 
ble  to  navigate  it. 

QUAKING  THROES — It  is  said  Atlantis  was  destroyed  by  terrible 
earthquakes;  some  think  that  it  was  the  same  as  the  deluge  in  the 
Bible. 

EDEN-LIKE  GARDENS — Some  think  the  Garden  of  Eden  may  have 
been  located  on  Atlantis. 

GODS  OF  YOUNGER  NATIONS — Some  think  the  deities  of  the  East 
ern  nations  were  only  the  Kings  and  Queens  of  Atlantis;  younger 
nations,  as  they  grew,  heard  of  their  exploits  and  called  them  gods. 

MARCO  POLO'S  INDIES  OF  THE  EAST  — Columbus  thought  he  had 
reached  the  East  Indies  by  sailing  west,  so  he  called  the  land  West 
Indies. 

EIGHTEEN  YEARS — It  is  said  Columbus  was  eighteen  years  pro 
curing  aid  and  the  permission  to  develop  his  plans  of  a  western 
voyage;  during  this  time  he  suffered  much  scorn  and  ridicule. 

BUILT  A  TOWN—  On  his  second  voyage  Columbus  founded  the 
town  of  Isabella,  on  St.  Domingo. 

KING'S  ENVOY — On  his  third  voyage  Bobadilla  was  sent  to  look 
after  the  affairs  of  Columbus,  and  brought  him  back  in  chains. 

LAST  HE  SAILED — Columbus  made  four  voyages  to  America: 
First,  from  Palos,  August  3d,  1492;  second,  from  Cadiz,  Septem 
ber  25,  1493;  third,  from  San  Lucar,  May  30,  1498;  on  this  voyage 
he  discovered  South  America,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco;  fourth, 
from  Cadiz,  May  n,  1502;  on  this  voyage  the  Governor  of  St.  Do 
mingo  refused  even  in  an  approaching  storm;  shelter  to  his  boats 
in  the  harbor  of  the  very  town  Columbus  had  built,  although  his 
boats  were  badly  damaged,  he  continued  his  explorations,  and  dis 
covered  North  America  at  Honduras.  Later  he  was  totally  ship 
wrecked. 

,  59 


SIR  CHRISTOPHER'S  COVE,  JAMAICA — where  Columbus  was  ship 
wrecked  on  his  last  voyage;  the  crew  endured  extreme  hardships; 
after  long  delay  the  Governor  of  St.  Domingo  consented  to  help 
them  back  to  Spain. 

YOUNG  FERDINAND — Columbus  son,  about  twelve  years  of  age, 
accompanied  his  father  on  his  last  voyage. 

VALLADOLID — A  town  on  the  Douro,  in  Old  Castile,  Spain;  Co 
lumbus  died  here  and  was  buried  in  the  Franciscan  Convent  of 
Santa  Maria  de  la  Antigua. 

AMERIGO  VESPUCIO — A  Florentine  merchant  who  sailed  to  Amer 
ica,  and  wrote  such  a  glowing  description  of  the  country  that  the 
scholars  of  St.  Die  began  calling  it  after  his  name;  some  say  he  was 
a  friend  of  Columbus,  and  had  no  intention  that  he  should  be 
robbed  of  this  honor. 

OLD  CASTILLIAN — Old  Castile,  a  province  of  Spain. 

To  IMPART — It  is  said  one  of  Columbus'  great  objects  was  to 
establish  the  Christian  religion  in  the  country  he  should  find. 

NEW  WORLD — Western  continent. 

COPERNICUS — A  great  German  philosopher  who  lived  from  1473 
to  1543;  he  taught  that  the  earth  was  only  like  some  stars,  and  be 
longed  to  a  system  of  planets  moving  around  the  sun,  but  he  dared 
not  teach  it  right  out,  for  it  was  called  heresy. 

GALILEO — An  Italian  philosopher,  1564-1642,  who  invented  the 
telescope,  microscope,  thermometer  and  clock:  he  taught  that  the 
world  moved,  and  was  made  to  take  it  back,  but  he  stamped  his 
foot  on  the  floor  and  said,  "It  does  move,  nevertheless." 

LOG-BOOK — A  record  of  the  ship's  course;  Columbus  did  no: 
have  as  perfect  ways  of  determining  the  ship's  course  as  seamen 
now  have,  and  it  perplexed  him  a  good  deal  out  on  the  high  sea. 

SEVILLE — A  beautiful  city  of  Southern  Spain,  in  Andalusia,  on 
the  Guadalquivir. 

LA  CUEVAS— A  Carthusian  monastery  of  Seville,  to  which  the 
remains  of  Columbus  were  removed  from  Santa  Maria  de  la  Antigua. 

AVE  AND  PATER-NOSTER — Are  formal  prayers  of  the  Roman  Cath 
olic  Church. 

GUADALQUIVIR — A  river  of  Andalusia,  in  Southern  Spain. 

DOURO — A  river  of  Castile,  Spain. 

ANDALUSIA — A  province  of  Southern  Spain. 

SAN  DOMINGO — A  city  of  St.  Domingo,  West  Indies. 

HAVANA — A  city  of  Cuba,  West  Indies. 

KING  OF  THE  CID — The  ancient  Spaniards  were  called  Cids. 

ST.  DIE — A  small  town  in  the  domain  of  Duke  Rene,  in  the 
Varges  Mountains,  France;  Duke  Rene  was  fond  of  educated  peo- 

60 


pie;  he  befriended  and  gave  a  home  to  a  great  scholar  by  the  name 
of  Walter  Lud,  who  drew  about  him  other  scholars;  Walter  Lud, 
with  the  help  of  Duke  Rene,  established  here  a  flourishing  school. 
Amerigo  wrote  a  letter,  with  the  interesting  account  of  the  New 
World  to  his  friend  Giocoiido,  then  in  Paris;  here  Giocondo 
met  Mathias  Ringmann,  and  told  him  about  Amerigo's  letter; 
Ringmann  became  a  teacher  in  the  St.  Die  school;  here  he  met 
Walter  Waldseemuller,  a  geographer  and  map-maker,  and  he 
wrote  up  a  book  and  drew  a  map,  calling  the  New  World  Amer 
ica.  It  seems  careless  of  those  scholars  to  make  such  a  mistake, 
but  I  suppose  it  was  with  them  as  it  is  with  a  great  many  people 
now  in  the  country  and  small  towns,  who  love  learning,  but  do  not 
always  have  the  privilege  of  informing  themselves  correctly. 

GENOA — A  city  of  Italy,  where  Columbus  was  born  and  reared; 
it  was  called  Genoa  the  Superb;  many  of  her  citizens  were  brave 
seamen,  and  among  them  Columbus  acquired  his  first  knowledge 
of  the  sea. 

PALLADIN — A  knight  or  great  man  of  Spain. 

IMPUTED  STAIN — It  is  said  Columbus  sold  the  Indians  for  slaves; 
it  was  very  wrong  if  he  did;  we  think  his  enemies  have  slandered 
him  a  great  deal. 

CHERISHED  PURSUIT — It  is  said  the  men  Columbus  had  with  him 
were  so  anxious  to  find  gold  that  he  was  obliged  often  to  turn  from 
his  exploring,  and  search  for  gold;  the  King  and  people  at  home  in 
Spain  expected  gold,  for  Columbus  supposed  he  had  found  Cathay 
and  India,  where  other  travelers  said  it  abounded.  When  they 
could  not  find  gold — that  is,  not  enough  to  satisfy  them — they 
thought  to  increase  their  profits  by  selling  the  Indians  for  slaves. 
We  do  not  believe  Columbus  wished  it  as  much  as  some  writers 
say,  but,  as  rulers  now-a-days  must  let  something  go  on  that  can 
not  very  well  be  helped,  when  many  people  wish  it.  We  have  read 
that  he  did  not  allow  the  slaves  to  be  treated  unkindly  when  he  was 
able  to  prevent  it.  We  are  sorry  that  such  wicked  things  ever 
could  have  happened  about  our  country,  or  the  man  to  whose  pa 
tience  and  bravery  we  are  indebted  so  much  for  our  happy  homes 
and  country. 

BE  A  BLESSING — In  the  twelfth  chapter  of  Genesis  we  read  that 
God  told  Abraham  to  go  and  find  a  country  which  he  should  show 
him,  and  said,  "And  thou  shalt  be  a  blessing."  (Second  verse.) 
I  suppose  he  meant  by  that,  Abraham  should  live  to  a  good,  high 
purpose  and  the  world  would  be  better  for  his  having  lived,  and 
that  mankind  should  receive  a  blessing  from  his  life.  The  Bible 
tells  us  Abraham  was  a  very  patient  man,  and  Josephus  says  he 

61 


U.C.  BERKELEY  LIBRARIE 


